Two Worlds, One Face
by Nimash
Summary: AU. The only similarity between rich pop idol Hikaru Hitachiin and middle class high school student Kaoru Ikeda is their face, but as a coincidental meeting will reveal, they just might be twin brothers-who now hate each other's guts. Oops.
1. chapter o n e

"Hikaru, do you have time for a question?"

"Smile for the camera!"

"What's your next album going to be like?"

"Marry me!"

The young pop star would have gone blind from the flashing camera lights of the paparazzi, were it not for his designer sunglasses and expert bodyguards parting the crowd so he could slide into the limo waiting for him after his concert.

Reaching into a mini-fridge on his left, Hikaru grabbed the first ice cold water bottle he touched, taking a long swig before he looked over at his personal assistant, a woman in her late twenties by the name of Aoi with a black bob of hair and a collection of matching blazers and pencil skirts; today's color was navy blue.

"So, what's the rest of the week look like, Business Lady?" Hikaru asked with a smirk, watching as she grew irritated at the nickname. She had been his personal assistant for almost seven months, but within the first ten minutes of knowing each other, Hikaru had labeled her, as he did with everyone, and due to her serious and neurotic nature, she was thus donned "Business Lady".

Aoi scowled, and replied, "Tomorrow is a press conference, along with the dinner party, day after is filming for the cologne commercial, and Saturday is the charity event."

"Boring." Hikaru sighed, looking out the tinted window at the glittering lights of Tokyo. "Why is everything these days so goddamn boring?"

"You get bored easily." Aoi's eye twitched as she growled, "I'm sorry the rest of the world just can't be as interesting as you."

Hikaru smirked. "It really is a shame; seems I'll need a new toy."

"What are you, five? Entertain yourself for a change."

"But there are so many ways to mess with people! I think my next victims are going to be the hotel cleaning staff."

Aoi pinched the bridge of her nose, Hikaru only grinning at her obvious annoyance. "How in the world do all your fans and the press see past your faults?"

He leaned back, running a hand through his spiky ginger hair. "Simple, Business Lady," Hikaru told her knowingly, Aoi feeling the urge to slap the smirk right off his face grow, "Because everybody loves me."

* * *

><p>"All right, I'm on break for the next ten minutes," Haruhi told the five high school boys, taking her seat at their customary table in the corner of the coffee house. They all were still wearing their uniforms, consisting of white long sleeve collared button-downs, red ties, black slacks for the boys, and a gray plaid skirt for Haruhi. She wiped her whipped cream and coffee-stained hands on her green work apron, apologizing, "I'm sorry I've been so busy, but this place has been getting a lot more business than usual."<p>

Kyouya took a sip from his mug, suggesting, "I believe that might be due to Kaoru."

"I didn't ask to be a look-alike of some cookie-cutter idol," Kaoru grumbled, holding his head in his hands, his ginger hair covered by a black beanie, his amber cat eyes concealed with aviators. He looked to Haruhi, giving her a half-smile and promising, "I'm coming in disguise from now on, though."

The brunette blinked, shaking her head. "You really shouldn't do all this; it's not that big of a deal."

Tamaki smothered her in a hug, cooing while Haruhi gasped for air, "Oh, my little daughter is so kind and adorable!"

"Tono, you're choking her."

"AH! I'm so sorry Haruhi! Daddy didn't mean to!"

Haruhi silenced him with a glare, causing Kaoru to laugh and Tamaki to whimper, probably whining in his head about how cruel she could be.

Hunny took an impossibly large bite of cake, and smiled, hugging his Usa-chan tighter to his chest. "I had a lot of fun watching Takashi at the Kendo Club today. Both of us have tournaments coming up and you should all come, right Takashi?"

"Yeah." The dark, silent boy nodded in agreement, letting a small smile lift the corners of his lips.

"Ooh! Wonderful! This will be the perfect family bonding opportunity!" Tamaki cheered, his eyes lit with excitement, "What with Kyouya and me on Student Council, Haruhi's part-time job here, Kaoru's Art club, Mori's kendo, and Hunny's martial arts, we haven't been able to spend nearly enough time together."

Kyouya turned to Hunny, asking, "When is it?"

"It's next Saturday; I'm competing at noon, and Takashi is competing at two. Can you all make it? That would make me super happy!"

Haruhi thought for a bit. "I can take an early shift, so I'll be there."

"As Student Council President, I can reschedule the planning for the fundraiser."

"Being Vice-President, I'll remind Tamaki to do so."

All eyes turned expectantly to Kaoru, who visibly deflated. _Great, I'm the only one who can't offer to change my plans. Thanks for making me look like a jerk, guys._ "Uh, actually," he began awkwardly, scratching the back of his head and trying to find the right words so he wouldn't sound like an inconsiderate prick, "The Art Club is going to be painting a mural for the school that weekend, and since the school is threatening to shut us down due to lack of funds unless we paint it for free and make it look good, I'm required to be there." He quickly added, speaking mostly to Hunny and Mori, "But I'll try to sneak away, and I'm sure we'll be done by one."

Hunny smiled, nodding understandably. "It's okay; I know it's super important to you, Kaoru. I'm sure it'll work out, anyway. You can still hang out with us after the tournament for cakes and candy!"

"Definitely."

"Haruhi! We need everybody working! It's going to be another busy day!"

The said girl sighed, standing up and telling the others, "Looks like my break is over. See you all tomorrow at school." Her friends waved as she made her way to the counter, ready to work the register as a long line of impatient customers slowly grew.

"Well, Takashi and I better get home and train!"

"Tamaki and I still have to work on the meeting schedule for the Student Council."

"Bu-but I wanted to see Ayame today-"

"You should have thought about that before deciding to put it off for so long."

Kaoru chuckled, watching his friends leave and waving goodbye, deciding to stay a few more minutes. They were a strange mix alright, unlikely friends, and none of it would've been possible if Tamaki hadn't transferred in from France. Kyouya had been chosen as his tour guide, and so the two came to develop a strange friendship. Hunny and Mori were cousins, so their bond already existed. Tamaki had walked in on not only Hunny's martial arts club, but Kaoru's art club meeting as well, and the blond had certainly left an impression, causing them to begin to hang out and become close friends in Kaoru's second year of middle school. In his third, they met Haruhi, again, purely by chance, as Kaoru and Tamaki decided to see who could spit their chewed gum the farthest, Kaoru's landing three feet away, and Tamaki's landing in Haruhi's hair, causing quite a scene and for the girl to give herself a haircut. The next day, Kaoru saw the horrid mess of chopped locks and set to work on correcting it, and thus sealing Haruhi's place in their group.

Before he had met everyone, Kaoru hadn't made any real, life-long friends. He wasn't anti-social, but he was a bit spacey, and his passion for designing clothes labeled him as a bit odd. He was kind, polite, but he felt like there was a half of him missing, and to this day, he couldn't understand why. Still, he was happy, and even with this weird feeling he couldn't shake, Kaoru had to admit, life was good.

"Hikaru Hitachiin's concert sold out in record time, with seats being gone in as little as ten minutes. He'll be holding a press conference tomorrow for his newest album, 'White Noise', set for release in two weeks."

Kaoru frowned at the television hanging in the coffee shop. He _was_ happy, anyway, until he started being mistaken for that singer. _I have to admit, though, we do look alike…I mean, change the hair a little, and-whoa, we could be twins_. He shook his head, getting up from the table and walking out the door and onto the street. _Yeah, well, if I'm related to that guy, then there are penguins on the moon._

Somebody better call NASA.

* * *

><p><strong>Hooray for AU, making things like the majority of the Host Club being middle class, Hikaru a Japanese idol, and the twins not knowing they're related possible.<strong>

**Seriously, though, I actually had more fun writing about Kaoru's life than Hikaru's. Probably because I had more characters to work with and it was a larger difference from the original show.**

**Well, I haven't planned this story out (when do I ever?) so all ideas are welcome and invited, and will probably end up being used. I already know some key things about the story all organized, i.e. how they'll meet, characters, etc. Also, fair warnings: Rated T for Hikaru's potty mouth later on, there will be plenty of HikaHaru later on, and yes, some KaoruxOC. Don't like any of the three, don't read. I'm not revealing anything else.**

**Hopefully I've kept the twins in character, or at least considering the circumstances. The only rich brat in this is Hikaru, Haruhi being the poorest, the rest middle class. I also figured that since the twins didn't grow up together they would prove to be a little more social (at least Kaoru would, anyway). I think their differences would also really show.**

**I just realized how long this AN is...Oh well, if you're actually reading this, please review and tell me what you think!**

**Until next time, read and enjoy!**


	2. chapter t w o

Hikaru waved to the press as the limo door closed, blocking him from view. He melted into the seat, exhausted from the press conference. They had practically eaten him alive, and they had even gone an hour over because the questions kept coming.

"Here." He caught the sugary energy drink Aoi had tossed him. Finishing it in three seconds flat, he looked at his personal assistant, who was sporting a deep red blazer and skirt today and for once seemed relaxed. Hikaru's eyes narrowed.

She was _never_ relaxed.

"What's going on, Business Lady?" Hikaru questioned her, suspicion written all over his face. "Have you set up my kidnapping, or something?"

"Or something," she replied, looking down at her clipboard, explaining, "The dinner party should completely wear you out, so I don't have to deal with your annoying ass tonight, and for once everything's going without a hitch."

The ginger smirked, letting the empty can fall from his hands. "And here I thought you loved to deal with my 'annoying ass'."

Aoi rolled her eyes, looking out the window and deciding not to waste her time on Hikaru. However, he wasn't done with her yet. "So, Business Lady, when's the party?"

"I told you already; it starts at five sharp, which gives us two hours to make you look decent."

"Decent?" Hikaru raised a brow, and told her haughtily, "I think we can both agree that I look hot on a regular basis."

"Don't flatter yourself."

"You're right; all the magazines do that for me."

She didn't respond, instead silently steaming, biting her tongue because she knew if she said what she wanted to she would lose her well-paying job. Hikaru grinned, amused at how she raged mutely; time to take it one step further.

"What was it _Daily Beats_ said about me? That my looks are to die for? And remind me, how many magazines named me 'teenage heart-throb of the year'? Oh, that's right, _seven_." He leaned back, interlacing his fingers and resting his head on his hands, saying, "You know, I wish there were two of me, just so the world could have twice the perfection."

He had no idea his wish was about to be granted.

* * *

><p>Kaoru was in a complete daze. He had spent all of last night doing math homework, seeing as how he didn't understand half of it but couldn't afford to let his grade drop any lower. He had managed to stay somewhat awake in class thanks to Haruhi, but now the full effect of the all-nighter had hit him on his walk home, and he was constantly bumping into people on the street. He hadn't even bothered with the beanie and aviators today, his bedhead and the bags under his eyes disguised him just fine.<p>

_I hope I'm going the right way. Meh, I'll get home eventually, I'm sure I'll be fine if I close my eyes for just a second…_

He didn't notice when he had walked into the quieter, more deserted part of town.

He didn't notice when he had walked out into the middle of the street.

He didn't notice the limo heading straight for him.

Kaoru only woke up when he heard screeching brakes, and right before he was slammed into the asphalt, blacking out.

* * *

><p>"What the hell was that?" Hikaru yelled, Aoi trying to recover from the heart attack the sudden stop had giving her.<p>

The driver rolled down the window separating him from the passengers, looking rather nervous. "A young man just wandered into the road, I-I tried to stop, but-"

Aoi and Hikaru's eyes went wide. If there was one thing they could both agree on, it's that unintentional vehicular homicide wasn't good for publicity. They both exited the limo and exchanged a look when they saw an arm laying on the asphalt, luckily still connected to a body, it seemed, the rest blocked from their view by the limo.

Hikaru was the first to break the silence. "Shit. This is bad."

"Of course it's bad!" Aoi snapped, beginning to freak out. "We could go to jail!"

"Well no one saw, so…"

"So _what_? We can't just leave him here!"

"Someone will eventually find him!"

The two silently stared at one another, not sure what to do. Hikaru ordered, "Well, you're the Business Lady; go see if he's still alive."

Aoi huffed, but grew grim when she turned her sights back on the limp arm. The two cautiously walked forward, closer to the unconscious boy, as if they were in a mine field and one false step could kill them all. They both seemed to let out a sigh of relief when they saw all body parts were intact, and he hadn't suffered from more than a few bruises and being knocked unconscious.

Bending down, Aoi hesitated in checking for a pulse. Hikaru huffed, "What now?"

"Wh-what if he's really dead?"

"Oh c'mon! He looks perfectly fine-"

"Not everybody dies with a lot of bloodshed and dismemberment!"

"Check his freaking pulse already!"

Aoi took another deep breath, pressing two fingers underneath the pale boy's neck, waiting a few tense moments, Hikaru's stomach slowly filling with dread.

She closed her eyes, letting out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. "He's alive; just unconscious."

"Great, so… Let's go."

"What the hell is wrong with you? I already told you, we can't leave him here on the street!"

"That's when we thought we killed him, but he's alive, so we can just slip away and not feel guilty."

"He could still get hurt, just lying here in the middle of the road!"

"Not my problem."

"Honestly…" Aoi stood from where she had been kneeling, instructing Hikaru, "You check his pockets for some sort of I.D., and I'll check his bag."

Hikaru watched as she walked over to the brown school bag lying a few feet away, opening it and beginning to rummage through. He looked back at the unconscious boy, and tilted his head to the side, thinking, _Weird, our hair is the same color._ Shaking it off, Hikaru reached into his pants' pockets, but came up short.

He was about to yell at Aoi that he hadn't found anything, when he saw her pull out a wallet and open it up, probably finding the kid's student I.D. Her face drained of color, and Hikaru could feel the knot in his stomach return. He quickly stood up and walked over to her, biting his lip and worrying, "Oh crap, don't tell me we hit someone important…"

"Worse," she said, picking up the student I.D. and turning it so Hikaru could see the name and face, an exact replica of his own. "There's two of you."

* * *

><p><strong>Two chapters in two days, I'm on a roll.<strong>

**Did I already say how much I love writing Aoi, and her conversations with Hikaru? Because I really do. It's a blast to write all their interactions, so believe me, Aoi will be around the majority of the story.**

**Also, to clarify, because I know the previous AN was longish: no twincest. Just because it says the main characters are Hikaru and Kaoru and this is Humor/Romance, doesn't mean it's twincest. Think of it more like Humor between the twins, and Romance for each coming up in a bit.**

**Until next time, read and enjoy!**


	3. chapter t h r e e

Most people would be shocked if they found out they had almost run over a possible long lost twin they had never heard of or seen before.

"Nah, he's uglier than me."

Hikaru is not "most people".

"Are you serious?" Aoi snapped, standing up and shoving the I.D. in his face, arguing, "You look exactly the same, you're the same height, same weight, and even your names are similar!"

Hikaru narrowed his eyes, countering, "But his last name isn't Hitachiin, he's just some poor kid, and I'm pretty sure I would know by now if I had a twin."

"Of course he has a different last name, he's probably adopted. And if you grew up without him and your mother never told you, then there's no possible way you would know!" She rubbed her temples, the I.D. still in her hand, asking, "Is this just you're way of dealing with the shock, or something?" Hikaru stayed silent, focusing on the still unconscious look-alike.

All his life, he had been alone. His mother was a top fashion designer and constantly traveling, and his father, well; his father didn't have much presence, so if he had been around he hadn't noticed. The maids and butlers who took care of him were practically robots, only doing what they were ordered to, and nothing more. Hikaru had no attachments to the world, and grew up thinking the people around him were play things, something to keep him entertained.

His system of thinking to keep himself from getting hurt meant the world was split up into only two parts: him and not him. Him being Hikaru, and not him being everyone else, who he couldn't care less about.

But a twin? Where would he fit? Technically, he was an exact copy of Hikaru, but he still wasn't Hikaru, and therefore he didn't fit in either group. It messed with his cynical view on the world, and Hikaru didn't like it.

"I don't care. Let's just drop him off at wherever he lives and pretend this never happened."

Aoi stared at him, watching as Hikaru made his way back to the limo. His voice seemed so tense and serious for once, almost angry. She didn't know how he wasn't the least bit excited about this, or at least wanting to get to the bottom of whether this really was a twin that was separated at birth. She sighed, looking at the student I.D. "Kaoru Ikeda," she whispered, looking at the unconscious boy. "Well, Kaoru Ikeda, you're going to help Hikaru become human."

* * *

><p>After loading Kaoru and his bag into the car, and Aoi calling a few of her higher-ups to figure out his address, the three were on their way to a commoner's apartment complex, the car ride silent and tense.<p>

Hikaru switched between staring out the window bitterly and staring at Kaoru in disgust, who had been lain on the seats across Aoi and him. Aoi bit her lip, not putting it past him to roll down his window and toss Kaoru back into the street.

"Ugh…what happened…?"

Aoi and Hikaru's eyes widened as they watched Kaoru slowly rise up into a sitting position, rubbing the back of his head. When Kaoru realized he wasn't at home or on the road, his eyes widened as well, and he looked between Aoi and Hikaru. "Where am I?"

"Where you don't belong."

"Hikaru…" Aoi warned, managing to silence him with a glare. She turned back to Kaoru, telling him, "We, uh, seemed to accidentally hit you when you walked into the street. You look fine, though, and we're taking you home."

"Oh." Kaoru had almost said "thank you", out of habit and politeness, but figured he didn't want to give them the idea that he actually enjoyed almost being run over by limousines. He stared at Hikaru in amazement, realizing something.

Hikaru took notice after an awkward minute, and glared at the other boy, growling, "What?"

"We really do look exactly the same."

"Hardly; I'm fabulous and you look like you just rolled out of bed."

"Concerning that," Aoi told Kaoru, deciding to ignore Hikaru all together, "I was wondering if, perhaps, Kaoru, you knew if you were, um… well, not of your mother's and father's-"

"-Adopted? Yeah, I am. So?" It was a rather touchy subject for him, although his parents had told him several years ago, when he was entering middle school; it was partially responsible for the empty feeling he had. At the young age, he had taken the news rather hard, although he had already suspected it, considering no one else in his adopted family had red or auburn hair or amber eyes. Still, the idea that his own mother didn't want him hurt, and whenever the subject was brought up he got rather defensive.

Realizing where Aoi was heading with this, Kaoru's stunned expression returned. He trailed off, "You don't think…?"

"I'm fairly certain at this point, actually."

Kaoru opened his mouth to protest, but closed it, realizing there was no arguing with the inevitable. Their names, height, weight, face; everything lined up perfectly.

They were twins.

Aoi sighed, telling the two, "I'm going to ask Mrs. Hitachiin, Hikaru's mother, to confirm this. Kaoru, I realize this is a lot, but try not to let this get in the way of your everyday life."

The limousine came to a halt, signaling that they had arrived at Kaoru's apartment. He slowly picked up his school bag and opened the door, revealing a few neighbors milling around outside, whispering about the high-class vehicle. Before Kaoru could close the door, Aoi held out a business card, saying, "My name's Aoi, by the way; I'm Hikaru's personal assistant. Here's my number, in case you need anything. We'll notify you when we confirm if you really are related."

Kaoru took the card, reading the simple name, number, and fax. He looked back at Aoi, mustering up a half smile. "Thanks." Not knowing what else to do and wanting to go back to normal life, he closed the limousine door, ignoring his neighbor's gossiping and heading up the stairs to his apartment door.

"Thank god that commoner is out of here," Hikaru muttered. "He was starting to foul up the air."

"How can you say something like that about your own twin?" Aoi was genuinely shocked at his outburst, not sure how he could be so cruel to the young man who could be a close relative.

Hikaru, on the other hand, didn't see him as such. Kaoru messed with his system, and was therefore just a glitch, a fluke. "I don't like him, and it's clear he doesn't like me. Even if we are twins, there's no way in hell I'd want anyone else to know."

"…Do _you_ want to know?"

He hesitated in answering. Aoi seemed uncharacteristically gentle, and it made him uncomfortable to have someone try and get close to him, to understand what he was feeling. He had set up these mental and emotional walls, and now there were threats of them tumbling down. "I don't care," he finally decided, hiding his uneasiness, "Ask my mom if you want, I doubt she'll admit to it."

Aoi frowned, but didn't press the subject further, knowing she wasn't going to get anywhere with it. He was so anti-social, to the point where he was downright cold to his own twin brother.

Whether he liked it or not, she was going to fix that.

* * *

><p>Kaoru flopped onto his bed, thankful that his parents were both still working. It would give him another hour or two to decide if he wanted to broach the subject, and if yes, then how. Honestly, he wanted to pretend none of this ever happened. Life wasn't going to be simple if he was related to that conceited singer.<p>

Still, he might leave him alone. It was clear Hikaru wanted nothing to do with him, and Kaoru was willing to comply. They would find out if they were twins, tie that up and never speak to each other again, going on pretending they had never met.

However, for once, the empty feeling wasn't haunting him. It was lightening, to the point that Kaoru noticed. He sighed, rolling onto his back and covering his eyes with his hands, blocking out the rest of the world. He didn't want to think about this. On one note he was happy, to know that he had a twin, someone he could be close with.

But why, of all people, did it have to be Hikaru Hitachiin?

* * *

><p><strong>And then they never spoke to each other again. The End. brick'd**

**I'm glad that so many people like this story so far, and I'm really honored with all your compliments. On that cheerful note, I'm going to be attempting to update all my stories on Monday, every week. I think it'll be good practice and force me to write more.**

**Until next time, read and enjoy!**


	4. chapter f o u r

"I see…Thanks for all your help, Mrs. Hitachiin." Aoi hung up, and stared at her mobile, biting her lip.

Hikaru messed with his hair for the millionth time, observing the results in the mirror of his hotel room, frowning, and messing with it again. He was ready for the charity event but still had an hour, and he knew that Aoi had just asked his mother about Kaoru. But it was easier to just pretend he didn't know.

Aoi looked up, watching Hikaru pretend not to notice. "Your mother just told me everything. Do you want to hear?"

He paused, his hands entangled in his hair, eyes set on staring holes into the wooden dresser beneath him. After a moment, Hikaru reached into the dresser and pulled out some hairspray, ignoring his P.A.

She huffed. "So you don't even want to know if you really had a twin all this time?"

Hikaru continued to ignore her, attempting to drown out her words and stare by obnoxiously spraying hairspray all over his mess of orange spikes. The foul substance caused Aoi to choke, even though she was sitting a few yards away and near a window.

Standing, Aoi narrowed her eyes and began, after Hikaru had set the can back in the drawer, "Well, as you know, your mother was rather young when she became pregnant. Her family was just getting out of a scandal, and news of her giving birth would ruin them completely. However, she couldn't stand the thought of abortion or adoption, so her parents compromised and said she could keep one baby. If there were any more, she would have to put them up for adoption."

His hands clenched into fists, and Hikaru was tense. _He's not my twin. I have no twin. I have no one close enough to hurt me._

"…She gave birth to twins. She kept you and had to put Kaoru up for adoption."

That was it, then. The glitch was permanent. Hikaru stormed out of the room, Aoi shouting after him, "Hikaru! Hikaru!" She chased after him in her heels, watching as he stomped down the hotel hallway. "Please, it's not the end of the world. Isn't this good news? Even if you don't like it, you'll have to face it!"

Only once he was almost at the elevator did he turn around and face her. "No I don't!" he snapped. "What, just because he's my twin now I have to love him?" He clasped his hands together, chiding in a falsetto, "Oh, the world is just sunshine and rainbows now that I know I have a long lost twin!" He frowned, throwing his hands to his sides. "He doesn't have anything to do with the Hitachiins, especially me. Mom gave him up for a reason, didn't she?"

"For Christ's sake, she was forced to!"

"I don't give a rat's ass! The point is he's not a part of my life, and he never will be." He seemed to have calmed down, at least enough to cross his arms and quit yelling, instead looking off to the side.

Aoi took a deep breath, and then went into business mode. "Okay, here's the plan. We don't tell anyone. I'll call Kaoru and ask him what he wants to do about it. I don't want this turning into a big scandal when you're at the height of your career. I do want you two to at least get to know each other, though. You need to acknowledge the fact that he's your twin."

Hikaru responded with a glare. "He'll never be my twin." He rushed past her, Aoi only rubbing her temples, listening as he stomped back down the hall and reached the door to their room. She expected to hear the door slamming any second, but instead heard Hikaru struggling with the handle, and then spouting profanities.

She turned around, walking closer to the ginger and seeing that he didn't have the key and was instead relying on brute force to open the door.

He stopped, stating simply, "I don't have the key."

"Obviously."

"Oh, just open the door, Business Lady."

Aoi rolled her eyes, reaching into the pocket of her olive green blazer. Her hand fumbled around for a bit, but she went grim after a few seconds.

Hikaru noticed her silence and the extreme lack of opening doors and looked at her, raising a brow. "Well…?" he questioned, looking rather annoyed. He was supposed to have slammed the door, ending their conversation with a sort of dramatic rage, and yet here they were, locked outside of their room.

She checked her other pocket, but already knew what had happened. "I don't have the key."

"…What?"

"I-I went running after you and left my key in my other jacket."

"You've got to be shitting me."

"Oh god, we're locked out! Now I have to go and ask someone to unlock our door; do you know how embarrassing that is? I'm a grown woman and I'm locked out of a hotel room." She pointed an accusing finger at Hikaru, who blinked. "And it's because of _you_."

"How is this my fault?"

"If you hadn't stormed out like a spoiled brat we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Don't put the blame on me! You need to keep track of your things better."

"Hikaru, sometimes I swear-"

"Oh, I'm sorry, who works for whom, in this situation?"

Aoi only grumbled, walking back to the elevator, Hikaru looking quite smug at his mini-victory. At least some things never changed.

* * *

><p>Kaoru rubbed his eyes as he entered the kitchen, having just woken up, enjoying the fact that he could get the sleep he was deprived of. <em>Thank god for Saturdays<em>.

"How did you sleep?" He was surprised to see his mother, or rather, non-biological mother in the kitchen, up already and making coffee and eggs. She was smiling, watching as he took a seat and then turning back to her cooking. She was a fairly pretty woman, with long, straight black hair and brown eyes, but her face wasn't memorable.

He blinked, pulling his chair closer to the small table and seemed to ignore her question, saying, "I thought you were helping at a charity event for the hospital today."

"Oh that doesn't start until much later."

"But isn't it…?"

"Isn't it what?"

"What time is it?"

"Eight."

"…In the _morning_?"

"Why else would I be making scrambled eggs?"

Kaoru only gaped. "That's impossible, I should've slept longer."

His mother slid the eggs from the pan to a plate, setting it in front of him along with a fork and some hot sauce. She poured herself a cup of coffee, asking, "Well, how late did you stay up last night? Couldn't have been too long, you were fast asleep by the time your father and I got home."

Oh, that's right; the stress and worry of yesterday's encounter had left him drained and he had ended up falling asleep before dinner, which meant…

"I still have homework." His head hit the table, and he groaned, knowing he might not be able to survive spending the entire day struggling with arithmetic and physics.

"Kaoru, slamming your head against things kills brain cells; now eat up." She took a sip of black coffee, watching s Kaoru lifted his head slowly and began to pour copious amounts of hot sauce on his breakfast. She asked after he took his first bite, not even panting from the spiciness, "It's only the third week of school; surely your homework isn't that hard yet?"

"Math."

"Ah."

A comfortable silence settled between the two, and it was only broken by an especially loud snore from Kaoru's dad in his parent's bedroom. "Honestly, we're going to get noise complaints one of these days," his mother chuckled, setting her mug down.

Kaoru only smiled, taking one last swallow. He paused before standing up to put his plate in the sink. Yesterday, he had been worrying about whether or not to talk to his parents about the twin mess he had gotten himself into. He hesitated, not sure why he was so nervous, but not any more eager than he was yesterday about the subject. "Hey, mom, can I ask you something?"

"Anything." She smiled, which only made the lump in Kaoru's throat bigger. He wasn't sure how she would react to his question. Would she see it as him betraying her somehow?

He took another breath, before asking, "Who's…who's my _real_ mother?"

His mother only closed her eyes. "Let me guess; Hikaru Hitachiin?"

"How did you-"

"I overheard our landlady telling half the block that you were dropped off in a limo yesterday." She opened her eyes, letting her finger trace the lip of her coffee cup absentmindedly, watching, seemingly in a trance. "You know, before I got a job at the daycare, I was a maid for Mrs. Hitachiin."

Kaoru paled. "So then…it's true? We're twins?"

His mom sighed, her finger stopping and her eyes looking up to meet his. "She was in a tight position. She was young, too young, and she had to give you away. But I was one of her more trusted maids, and I already knew I could never have my own children."

He only sat, avoiding eye contact with her, trying to register everything. His mother stood up, taking his plate and fork along with her cup and rinsing them in the sink, the sound of running water soothing and the early morning light giving the room a nice glow.

She turned the faucet off, and stood still, but Kaoru could tell by the way her fingers twitched while they were on the counter that she was bothered by something. He was right when she spoke up, admitting, "I should have told you sooner. You had a right to know, but you didn't want to talk about it, and…" She trailed off, turning around to face him, putting on a brave face. "I understand if you want to live with Hikaru; he's your real family, after all. I have no right to keep you from-"

"No, mom, I just-" Kaoru had rose from his chair, and taken a few steps forward. Closing the distance, he enveloped his mother in a hug, whispering, "I just wanted to know. I'm not leaving. _You're_ my real family."

He didn't need to see her face to know that she had a tear sliding down her cheek, and she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him. She had been the one to raise him, teach him right from wrong, and that setting tablecloths on fire was a no-no. To Kaoru, this was his family, and nothing would change that.

Pulling away from the embrace, his mother wiped at her eyes, laughing. "Well now I've gone and made this all so emotional." She smiled up at him, giving his cheek a peck and walking towards the door, grabbing her things and telling him, "I'm going to meet up with some friends before the event. I'll be back before dinner, lunch is in the fridge. Wake your father up if you're planning to go somewhere and tell him."

Kaoru waved, watching her go out the front door. He was glad that was out of the way now, but what next? He couldn't just sit around and do homework; his mind was racing and he was itching to go outside and enjoy the nice spring weather.

After he took a quick shower and changed, he left a note for his dad, grabbed his cell phone, and headed out the door, not entirely sure where he was going, but not wanting to stay still a second longer.

* * *

><p><strong>The angst! The drama! What's the categories? Humor and Romance? Are you sure?<strong>

**Well, next chapter will be more light-hearted. As always, suggestions are being taken.**

**Until next time, read and review!**


	5. chapter f i v e

"Going somewhere, Kaoru?"

He was almost home-free, having just gotten off the last step and about to cross the street, when his landlady spotted him. She was an elderly woman who was known for having high standards and a tongue that flapped at both ends. Already she was spreading rumors about his association with the limo, and no doubt one mistake could lead to major conspiracies.

The young man turned to her with his most charming and disarming smile. "I wanted to enjoy the nice weather this morning, so I'm taking a walk in the park." He hadn't been planning on going anywhere specific, but with the landlady, wandering aimlessly meant you were involved in some drug cartel or a racy love affair.

His landlady wasn't fooled. She narrowed her eyes, questioning, "With a girl?"

"No ma'am, just myself."

"Do your parents know?"

"I left a note for my dad and have my mobile with me in case of emergency or if one of them calls." Kaoru had since grown used to feeling like he was being interrogated by her, having lived in the apartment complex for the majority of his life. He tried his best to make his smile sincere, and could see her slowly begin to falter, from the way her eyes flickered off to the side, and how her brows weren't as close together as previously.

"Don't be gone for too long."

"I won't. Have a nice day." He turned and made a beeline for the opposite side of the street, not wanting to spend a second longer under her critical gaze. He had just managed to save himself from being the gossip of the block, which would at least give him one less thing to worry about.

Entering his neighborhood park, he noticed that there were only two children playing due to it still being early, their mom off to the side with a baby held lovingly in her arms. He watched for a minute, as the young boys pretended the playground was a pirate ship, deciding on who was captain and first mate, and then setting off for adventure. Kaoru smiled, trying to remember when he was that young.

At that age, he hadn't met anyone in his close group of friends, and he was still an only child. He didn't know he was adopted, but still felt lonely, especially because he had no real best friend. The ginger frowned, walking off towards the old oak tree he used to play on and sit in when he wanted to be alone with his thoughts.

What if he had grown up with Hikaru? What would change? Would he really be the Kaoru he was today? Not to mention the fact that he would be living in the lap of luxury. Was there pressure? Who would he associate with?

Sliding his back down the trunk and sitting in the grass, Kaoru plucked a blade from the ground, twirling it in his fingers and thinking to himself. The birds were chirping, the sun was warm on his face, and he felt at peace enough to really start thinking about everything.

He was tempted to call someone, invite them over or just talk on the phone, to get everything off his chest. But he would probably end up revealing he was Hikaru's twin to Haruhi, Tamaki, Hunny, or Mori, and Kyouya would figure it out quickly.

_I'm sure it'll be fine. Not entirely sure if I want to publicly announce it, though. That would mean me having to live with Hikaru 24/7, leaving Mom and Dad, probably never seeing my friends again…_ He rested his chin on his hand, watching as the rest of the world went by, not knowing his dilemma.

In the midst of his silent contemplating/brooding, he failed to notice the rustling leaves above him. However, it was hard _not_ to notice a girl letting out a yelp as she leaned too far back on a branch and ended up hanging upside down, kept up only by her legs twisted around the branch, a camera in her hands. She was facing him, and their noses were only inches apart as they stared and blinked at each other, trying to register what had just happened.

"…Hello." The girl greeted him normally, as if she almost fell out of oak trees and onto strangers on a daily basis.

Kaoru responded, still frozen in place and with a rather stunned face, "Hi."

A few more seconds of silence passed, neither breaking eye contact. Finally, the girl spoke up. "All the blood is rushing to my head."

"Then you should probably get down."

"I should." She tried to swing herself up, but she was rather frail, and not being able to use her hands due to holding the giant, somewhat vintage camera proved to be too hard, and she gave up after her fourth try, sighing. "Hold this." She thrust the camera into his lap, Kaoru fumbling with his hands as he snapped out of his daze and grabbed it.

Swinging and reaching up, she managed to get a hold of the branch, but couldn't pull herself up before her legs slipped off in front of her, managing to clock Kaoru square in the temple, knocking him onto the grass, and the girl losing her grip and falling on top of him.

"That didn't go as planned," she commented.

"It really didn't," he responded.

"Are you all right?"

"My head hit a root, but other than a bruise I should be fine."

"That's lucky."

"…Not to be rude, but can you please get off me?"

"Oh, right, sorry." She hurried to stand up on her legs, brushing the grass off herself. Now Kaoru could get a good look of her, and figured she was shorter than him by at least three inches, with pale skin, brown almond eyes, and pert nose. Her black hair was parted to the right, and was a little thin, coming in front of her body and reaching past her shoulders, curling slightly at the ends. She wore a simple long purple off-shoulder top over a white tank top, jean shorts, and red Converse high tops. Turning to face him, she asked, "Can I have my camera back?"

He handed it to her, watching as she inspected it for damage, her eyebrows knit together in concentration. "So do you normally fall out of trees?" Kaoru joked, the girl looking up at him.

"I try not to make a habit of it." She smiled, but it disappeared as she concentrated again, this time on staring at him, making him shift uncomfortably. "Have I met you before?"

_Here we go again._ Kaoru opened his mouth, about to tell her that he wasn't Hikaru Hitachiin, when she snapped her fingers, looking quite proud as she concluded, "Right, you're in my class."

"Oh." It was odd for someone to not make the connection between Hikaru and him instantly. Looking at her now, though, he did remember seeing her, although having it only been a few weeks; he hadn't managed to learn everyone's names.

"Your name is Kaoru, right?" She smiled, looking down at her camera and pressing a few buttons, seeming to have lost interest in him.

He wasn't quite sure what to do, as he wasn't sure if she was through with him or something, so he simply replied, "Yeah…I'm sorry, I don't remember your name."

"Anzu." She looked back up at him, her face blank.

"Right, I remember now."

Anzu raised a brow, accusing, "You're lying."

Kaoru sighed, giving her a crooked smile as he crossed his legs. "Yeah, I am. Guess I'm not good with names."

"Or lying."

"Pardon?"

"Well, you just have a really easy tell. Every time you lie, your right eyebrow is higher than your left, and your hands twitch," she explained.

"How can you tell?"

"Guess I have an eye for detail."

"Guess so."

Anzu stood, her foot making holes in the ground aimlessly, Kaoru coughing and busying himself with studying the leaves above him. It wasn't necessarily awkward, but it was a little uncomfortable.

And then Kaoru got a strange idea. He wasn't quite sure why he had thought of it; maybe he figured he had nothing to lose, maybe it was because he was desperate, maybe because they weren't close enough for him to blow his secret, but for some reason or another, he looked up at Anzu and asked, "Hey, do you have any time to stick around and talk?"

And she simply sat down, placing her camera next to her and smiled, replying, "Plenty."

* * *

><p><strong>Wow, what a pathetic chapter. Good thing you weren't waiting for over two weeks for it. shot**

**Can't say I'm too pleased with this, but I realized how long it's been since I updated, and just felt like there was nothing I could do to improve it, so I posted. So yes, next chapter shall focus mostly on Kaoru and his side of life, but then we'll have a Hikaru chapter to balance it out.**

**I'm interested to see how many people actually read end notes. If you have read this, please review and add at the end "apricots fall on Kaoru". Just curious. Also, please check out the poll on my profile if you have a minute to spare to vote in a poll for what type of genre you would like to see me write a story for.**

**Until next time, read and enjoy.**


	6. chapter s i x

When starting a conversation with a classmate you barely knew, it's important to know how to bring about the issue you want to discuss without blowing the secret, which would defeat the purpose of talking to him/her.

Kaoru hadn't the faintest idea how to.

This was why he very rarely acted on an impulse. He liked to be able to think things through a little, plan ahead, and stray away from moments like these when he was at a loss of what to do or say. Anzu watched as he struggled in his mind to find the right words, and she raised a brow, pointing out, "I'm not an expert, but I'm fairly certain this is the part where you're supposed to say something."

"Right, um…" Kaoru struggled as though he had just learned Japanese the other day, biting his lip and desperately scanning his mind for something to say, all while trying to keep up his poker face.

Anzu spoke up after a few more awkward seconds, "How about I start?"

"Sounds good." Anything to keep him from saying something stupid that would no doubt blow his cover.

"I was in the tree because I was trying to take pictures for the school newspaper; until I fell on you, anyway."

Kaoru's curious nature began to bubble up. "So you're on the newspaper, then?" he asked, leaning back and beginning to truly relax. In the back of his mind, he was still trying to figure out how he could broach his issue, but it was nice to listen to Anzu.

She thought for a bit, before responding, "Technically, no," she continued, adding, "I'm in the Photography Club, but the newspaper is always looking for photos for the paper, so I help them out every once in a while."

"So they asked you to take pictures of leaves…?"

"Birds. I'm afraid there aren't many around here, though. Guess I'll have to try somewhere else later." Anzu looked at him, and he picked up that she was hinting it was his turn to talk. He still wasn't sure what to say. He couldn't trust a near stranger with his secret, and it would be far too obvious if he simply claimed a friend had his problem.

Finally, he settled on trying to turn it back to her. "Do you have any siblings?"

"I have a younger brother named Shino. He's five."

"Do you get along?"

"Swimmingly. He's a bit protective of me, though. He's always 'defending' me from 'danger'." She used air quotes, but half-smiled.

Kaoru raised a brow. "How does he-"

"He's a biter."

"Ah." He watched as she absent-mindedly twirled a strand of her hair, both of them watching it swirl around her fingers. The silence was more comfortable now, so much so that Kaoru almost forgot what he had finally decided on saying. Before it slipped his mind, he asked, "Would you rather be an only child?"

Anzu stopped twirling her hair, and Kaoru felt as though he had done something wrong for a moment. However, her eyebrows were knit together and her cheeks were puffed out in concentration, so she was merely thinking before she gave him an answer. "Sometimes. If Shino was closer to my age, we might not get along as well. But in the end, I still want him as my brother. I still love him and care for him, and it's nice to see him grow up. It's the same with everyone, I think. There are moments when you just want to be left alone, but in reality you still want someone to be close to."

He nodded while she spoke, absorbing her words. It was refreshing that she had taken him so seriously, when most people would've given him a one-word answer. Silence engulfed them again, Kaoru looking up at the leaves and thinking to himself. _Anzu has a point. I mean, what if this empty feeling I have is just my subconscious trying to tell me that I need a brother in my life? Someone I can share anything with. Sure, we're practically strangers, but that doesn't mean we can't try and catch up on what we've missed, right?_

Kaoru only snapped back to attention when Anzu asked, "Is that what's been bugging you?"

"What?"

"Are you having sibling problems?"

"Oh, no, I don't even have a sibling." He half-expected her to call him out, and was growing nervous, but realized that he hadn't even felt as though he had lied.

Anzu only stood up and picked up her camera, asking, "So what _has_ been bugging you?"

"It's just something I've been thinking about," he began, trying to keep his words honest, or at least half-true, which was harder than he thought it would be, "I'm an only child, so it gets pretty lonely."

She cocked her head to the side. "I thought you're friends with Haruhi. You sit next to each other, anyway."

"Oh, I am, just…" Kaoru bit his lip, thinking. "It's just that sometimes, I feel like I can't talk to my friends about certain things."

Anzu thought for a bit, looking down at her shoes. "Then I won't be your friend," she concluded, looking back up at him.

Kaoru flinched slightly at the comment. "Am I really that horrible to be around?"

"No, but if you can't share certain things with your friends, then you don't need another," she explained knowingly, as if it were common sense. She added, with another of her small, genuine smiles, "So from now on, we'll be each other's diaries."

"…I don't follow."

"If we have something we want to talk about that we don't want others to know, we can share it with each other, and afterwards, it'll stay secret, like writing something in a diary and locking it."

Kaoru blinked, looking at her.

And then suddenly, he laughed.

It started as a chuckle, barely more than a giggle, but grew louder and happier with each second passed, until he was clutching at his sides and on his back, his eyes watering. Anzu walked to his side, leaning over so she could get a better look at his face, and when he opened his eyes, wiping away at laughing tears left behind, he saw that she was rather puzzled by his sudden outburst. "It wasn't a joke…"

"I know, sorry for laughing," he apologized, sitting back up with his spirits lifted to the sky. He looked at her, grinning and saying, "But it just happened. Maybe it's just something about the way you said it."

"Maybe." She bent down, her camera on the ground once more, and asked, "But what do you think about that?"

Completely back to his former self, Kaoru noted, "Diary sounds a little too feminine, and like we ignore each other unless we have a secret. How about something a little more unisex and human-sounding?"

"Truly trusted?"

"Secret sharers?"

"Confidential confiders?"

Kaoru snapped his fingers in accomplishment, looking quite pleased with himself. "Lock and Key."

"Who's Lock and who's Key?"

"Does it make a difference?" He didn't even need a response, knowing from the dead serious look on her face that it made _all_ the difference. Pointing for emphasis, he decided, "Okay then, I'm Lock, and you're Key."

"And what's your reasoning?"

He smiled, feeling playful and mysterious he stood up and began to walk away from her, turning around after he had established a few feet of distance and saying with a smirk, "Because maybe you'll be the one who unlocks all my secrets."

And now she was smiling, and picking up her camera and beginning to walk away in the opposite direction, catching on to the mysterious air, and replying with a coy smile, "Maybe I will."

Only after Kaoru was almost back onto the sidewalk did he think to himself, _Why the hell did I just do that?_ However, his cell phone rang and he hurried to pick it up. "Hello?" he answered, stopping so that one foot was on the grass of the park and the other was on the pavement of the sidewalk.

"Hello, Kaoru?" He recognized the voice immediately, and was suddenly very alert as she continued, "It's Aoi; you know, Hikaru's P.A.?"

"Hi, Aoi. You called sooner than I expected."

"I got an answer sooner than I expected. Oh, I'm sorry, is this a bad time?"

"No, perfect timing," Kaoru told her, and even though he knew already, he asked, "So, what was the answer?"

Aoi was quiet for a few moments, and Kaoru wondered if she had put down the phone in order to no doubt deal with Hikaru's diva problems. "…Yes, you're twins."

"I figured."

"…You're taking this rather well…"

"Truth is, my mom-er, adopted mom told me already. Plus, it's pretty obvious." And then, just because it felt right, Kaoru asked, "How's Hikaru taking it?"

"Oh, wonderfully, really great, he's excited and wants to catch up real soon." Aoi made a horrible liar; her voice was far too eager, she was quick to respond, and her words were starting to mash together. Kaoru couldn't help but wonder what Anzu would say if she could hear this.

He also couldn't help but laugh a little. "So then he's denying my existence?"

"Oh, no, I wouldn't say anything like that." Her nervous giggle was so obvious, he wondered if Aoi thought she was fooling him. He heard her take a breath, and then came a mess of words so quickly, that Kaoru struggled to make them out.

"'tyoutakeHikarubutofcoursehe'''thavetoworryaboutathing."

The ginger blinked, processing her idea. Looking up at the bright blue sky, he smiled. "Count me in."

"'reprobablystilltryingto- Wait, what?"

"I'll take Hikaru to the competition and introduce my friends to him, just make sure you disguise him well; some of the girls at my school are borderline obsessed when it comes to him. We'll talk about the details later, but right now I have to go. Bye, Aoi."

"Oh. Oh, okay, that's great, fantastic! Yeah, we'll chat later. Have a nice day, Kaoru!" But he wasn't listening to her, and had lowered his hand, his phone by his side. His eyes were focused on the ground, at his feet, one on the grass, the other on concrete.

_I'm between two lives right now_, he thought, _And I still have time to go back to the one I know. Do I really want to dive into a new world?_

Kaoru watched as his left leg slowly moved away from the familiar grass, and joined the other on the sidewalk. He smiled.

_I do._

* * *

><p><strong>Insert ending theme perfectly time with that last bit here.<strong>

**I actually did write with that in mind; you know, when they start playing the ending song while the character is still talking, pause at the last, crucial thought/line, and then bam, credits. Yeah, okay, I'm rambling.**

**Sorry for the wait, school musical has been getting in the way, along with grades, but it's here! I'm think the next chapter should be more focused on Hikaru, to balance all this Kaoru-ness out. Thoughts?**

**Edit: Fixed Aoi's mess of words, which really did end up in a mess somehow.**

**Until next time, read and enjoy!**


	7. chapter s e v e n

**I would like you all to know that I died. **

**Metaphorically, but still.**

**I won't bore you with the details, so how about we get on with the chapter? Fair warning, there's suggested underage drinking, which I do not condone in any way, shape, or form.**

* * *

><p>Hikaru thrust open the sliding glass doors leading to the patio, breathing in the cool night air and closing the door behind him, shutting out the noise of the party. He wasted no time in walking over to the railing looking over the glittering lights of Tokyo, and being as far away from the roaring crowd as possible. Inside the penthouse, it was hot, crowded, and noisy. His head was pounding, and he was feeling light and buzzed, quite possibly from the alcohol. He had been careful not to consume enough so he looked like a total idiot, but this was his party and security was tight, so he was free to party and drink without the press on his tail.<p>

Technically, he was throwing the private party to celebrate his soon-to-be-released album, but Hikaru knew that deep inside he had thrown together this last minute celebration to help him forget the fact that he had a twin.

It wasn't working.

The groupies were getting on his nerves, whoever was playing the music kept playing absolute crap, and the cheap wine left a sour taste in his mouth. As he surveyed the bustling downtown, Hikaru tried to clear his mind, but the problem with alcohol was that it impaired everything; maybe that's why he wasn't supposed to participate in underage drinking.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the host himself." His head snapped over to the left, where he found a tall, exotic-looking French woman, with blue eyes and gilded opera glasses. She twirled them in her right hand as she walked closer to him, her hips swaying from side to side, her cocktail dress not leaving too much to the imagination.

Hikaru worked up a plastic smile. "Éclair. Lovely to see you."

"No need to lie," she purred, stopping and leaning her elbows on the railing, looking over the city just as he had been doing before. "We don't have to act friendly when the paparazzi isn't watching."

"Right. Force of habit." He turned back to looking at Tokyo as well, his smile vanishing into the night air. Éclair was a prominent figure in pop culture. She was the kind of celebrity heiress that everyone knew, but no one was quite sure why they knew her. All of her "friends" were famous and influential, and her father owned a multi-million dollar company. If she was at a party, then it was labeled as the hottest party of the year. If she was endorsing a perfume, then it was the only perfume selling well. She could make or break anyone she wanted to; and she was Hikaru's biggest rival.

Both of them were powerful with the media, and if the two were to ever announce they were enemies, there would be a war. Hikaru would never admit it out loud, but he wasn't too sure he would come out as the winner. Éclair had been famous for far longer than he had, even though his mother was also a celebrity. On the other hand, he could still deal a decent amount of damage to Éclair's reputation, and so the two settled on an unspoken truce. Act friendly in public, but the second no one was watching, the act was off.

However, it was rare for the two to ever approach one another, or be alone together, and so Hikaru was unsure of what to do. He didn't want to go back inside because that would look like he was forfeiting (from what, he wasn't sure), but he couldn't stand being out here with her.

As it turned out, Éclair had something to say. "Congratulations on your latest album."

Hikaru wasn't impressed. "Thanks," he replied emotionlessly. He wasn't going to let his guard down.

"Peculiar date to throw a party, though." She looked over at him, and he couldn't stand the naturally smug look in her eyes. Magazines had labeled it as natural smolder or confidence, but Hikaru just thought it made her look narcissistic and cocky. Éclair continued, bringing her opera glasses up so that Hikaru could no longer see her eyes but his own reflection instead, "Not many people consider a Tuesday night a day to let go of their inhibitions."

"That's what alcohol is for."

"How old are you, again? Sixteen? Lovely example you're setting."

"You're no better."

"True. I suppose we both have skeletons in our closet."

Hikaru wasn't sure if she was trying to hint at blackmail or threatening him, but he knew he couldn't let her have the last word on it. "Wouldn't the press just love to know them all?" He was quite proud of himself for coming up with something so mysterious and coy.

"They would. But if you pay them off handsomely, they keep their mouths shut." At this point, she lowered the glasses, and held both hands behind her back. He watched as she began to walk towards a modern sculpture set out, and she added, without turning around, "That's how the world works, though. Everything has a price."

At least they could agree on something. But Hikaru didn't want to agree with Éclair about anything, so instead of saying how right she was he settled for lying. "That's not it at all; you just think money can buy you anything."

"Don't go playing the hero, Hikaru." She turned with her opera glasses raised, not bothering to hide her smirk. "When you don't fit the role."

Again, she was right. Hikaru may have been proud, but he wasn't in denial. When he was hidden from the public eye he broke hearts, toyed with people, and was far from being a role model. "You're not a hero either. You have no right to condescend me," he retorted, not breaking eye contact.

Lowering the opera glasses, Éclair's smile disappeared, and she suddenly grew colder and distant, muttering, "I never claimed I was." Hikaru would dare to say she looked vulnerable, and he couldn't decide if it pleased him to know he had more power in the situation, or if it just unnerved him.

Éclair quickly regained her composure, though and looked back to him, continuing, "But I didn't come out here to make small talk. If anything, I came to warn you."

"Warn me?" he repeated, watching as she once again leaned on the railing to his left. He smirked, chuckling, "Careful now, Éclair; you might just develop human emotions."

"Wrong, yet again, Hikaru. I have emotions; I simply keep them locked up. I also have allies, something else you lack."

"How is this warning me? All you've done is imply that I'm a rock with no friends."

"I'm implying that you've made a few enemies in the celebrity circle with your comments and infamy, and it wouldn't hurt to suck up your pride, show your human side and align yourself closely with a few stars."

Hikaru wasn't sure whether to laugh or question her further. Enemies? The only enemy he thought he had was Éclair, the very person who was giving him advice right now. Otherwise, everybody loved him. Except for the girls he had led on. And a few music producers. And quite a few interns. Not to mention the actors and actresses whose movies he had given negative reviews.

On second thought, maybe he should question Éclair further about this. But just as he opened his mouth to ask her who exactly was looking to ruin his name, the worst possible person had come looking for him at the worst possible time.

"Hikaru Hitachiin I need an explanation and I need it now!" Aoi slammed the sliding glass door open and didn't bother to close it, the sounds of the party exploding into the night air. Her rage blinded her and she paid no attention to Éclair, who took the opportunity to slide back inside unnoticed, Hikaru wishing he could do the same. "Why the hell are you throwing a party this late on a Tuesday night when you have a million things to do in the morning? And don't even bother trying to make up an excuse for the alcohol! For pity's sake, you're only sixteen!"

"What are you doing here, Business Lady?" Hikaru asked, trying to divert her attention and failing miserably.

She narrowed her eyes, hissing, "Party's over, Hikaru. Security is escorting everyone out, I'm getting cabs for the underage drunks, and you're in a heck of a lot of trouble with me. And here I thought I could trust you for one night, just _one_ night."

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "Relax, security was tight, and no press got in."

His response only seemed to irritate Aoi further. "You don't get it, do you? Hikaru, this isn't about your public image, this is about the fact that you're not even eighteen and you're getting into this sort of trouble. Alcohol, really? Were you not raised any better?"

"Nope."

The two stared each other down, until finally Aoi sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples. "I'm disappointed with you."

To Hikaru, the comment stung more than it should have. He honestly felt like he had done something wrong, even though in his mind, he was just having a good time. For once, he had no clever retort, possibly due to the booze still fogging his mind a little.

After a few moments of tense silence, Aoi spoke up, "I came to tell you that you'll be hanging out with Kaoru on Saturday."

"No." He only needed a second after he heard Kaoru's name to respond. He brushed past Aoi, walking into his penthouse suite littered with trash, and began to stuff his face with leftover food; not because he was hungry, but to signify that the conversation was over.

His personal assistant followed him, though, and her bad mood only strengthened her resolve. "Oh, you don't have a say in the matter. The crowd you associate with is clearly a bad influence on you, and it's past time for you to get to know Kaoru."

Hikaru meant to say, "I said no," but with his mouth stuffed with chips it came out more like, "Ah sfed naw." He decided to leave the food and began to go towards the bathroom to brush his teeth.

"I head what you said," Aoi countered, blocking his path and forcing him to listen, "But considering tonight's events, you're opinion doesn't mean much. You're going and that's final."

He rolled his eyes and pushed past her for the second time that night. "Fine. Whatever." He was beginning to feel tired, and wasn't in any mood to argue with Aoi any longer.

Aoi, however, had prepared for a battle. She visibly loosened, asking incredulously, "Wait, seriously? That's it? No long spiel about how you'll never accept Kaoru as a part of your life? Or how I'm acting out of line as your P.A.?"

"I'm tired. Leave." He slammed the bathroom door in her face, but Aoi could only stare with wide eyes, until a half-smile broke out on her face.

She gave out a few stunned giggles, asking no one in particular, "It's that easy? It was seriously that easy?" Realizing, however, that she no longer seemed as professional or responsible she quickly cleared her throat and yelled at the bathroom door, "But you're still in trouble!"

"Yeah, uh-huh."

And for once, Aoi left Hikaru's room feeling better than she had walking in, still stunned at how smoothly this was going. Even after she was standing in the elevator, she could only whisper to herself, "It really was that easy."

* * *

><p><strong>So who here is also an Eclair fan? -beaten to death-<strong>

**I honestly did like Eclair, though. I know she came off as heartless, but then why else should she be a villain? And When you think about it, she's really just a misguided and lonely hopeless romantic. Therefore, no Eclair bashing, please.**

**As always, reviews are appreciated, and I'm sorry if a lot of you had given up hope that I would update.**

**Until next time, read and enjoy!**


	8. chapter e i g h t

Hikaru tapped his foot impatiently while he waited outside the community center. He had taken extra precautions not to be seen, having taken a strange, winding path and switching limos twice, not to mention his disguise being a simple V-neck and gray sweatpants, his hair hidden under a black wig, sunglasses hiding his eyes.

He was not a happy camper. This wasn't how he wanted to spend any of his time, much less his Saturday, but here he was, waiting for his twin (Hikaru refused to call him that, though, insisting on either Kaoru or "Commoner") who was running thirty minutes late.

Of course, it was Hikaru's fault. He was the one who had agreed to it, albeit because he was tired and not in the mood to argue with Aoi, who was _still_ upset with him for Tuesday night. At least his disguise was comfy, even if the wig was a little itchy.

Just as he was about to call up his driver and tell him to pick him up in a back street, Hikaru saw a bob of orange hair on the horizon, connected to a skinny, pale body, running. "Great," he mumbled sarcastically to himself, watching as Kaoru continued jogging. "Now I can't leave." Although if he did try to leave, he wouldn't be surprised if Aoi popped out of some hiding place and yelled at him.

"Sorry I'm late," Kaoru told him, leaning over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"What, do you run marathons so you keep people waiting?"

"Actually, I just came from school. I had to sneak away because my Art club is-"

"Shhh." Hikaru put a finger to his lips, watching as Kaoru shut up. He smirked, asking, "Hear that?" Kaoru warily shook his head no, and Hikaru leaned in, his smirk only growing. "That's the sound of me not giving a shit."

Kaoru frowned. "Do you just wake up in the morning and think of ways to be a jerk?"

"Only when I have to deal with commoners."

"I'm your twin."

Hikaru cringed when he said it, Kaoru not looking incredibly comfortable about mentioning the fact that they were related, either. However, it was clear he was more open to the idea and had accepted it, while Hikaru was still in sweet denial. "Don't use that word," he snapped.

"What, 'twin'?"

"Yes. It makes it sound like we're close."

Kaoru only rolled his eyes. "Whatever." Hikaru grew angry at his treating him like an equal or underling, but before he could open his mouth to make a snide remark, Kaoru asked, nonchalantly sliding his hands into his jean pockets, "So what's the story?"

It took Hikaru a second to realize what he was talking about, but he quickly pulled out a folded up piece of notebook paper from his pocket that Aoi had given him. She had gone over his fake story at least a hundred times the night before and on the drive over, but Hikaru hadn't bothered to listen. Luckily, she had accounted for that and written everything he needed to know and gave it to him in the limo. "My name's Hiroshi, and I'm your cousin."

"Mother's side or father's?"

"Does it matter?"

"Better if we agree on details than if we say something different and end up looking suspicious."

"Then how about this? I don't talk to you or your friends, and you all don't talk to me, and then I'll leave at the same time so Aoi thinks I actually went through with this."

Kaoru was a little hurt that Hikaru wanted nothing to do with him, but he wasn't one to give up. "Let me introduce you to them, at least."

Hikaru wasn't one to compromise, but what was the harm in saying hello? "Whatever floats your boat, commoner."

"That's another thing."

"What is?"

"You can't call us commoners. You're one of us."

"No I'm-" Hikaru cut himself off, Kaoru looking slightly worried at the fact that he couldn't even keep his cover around one person. "Oh. Right."

Deciding that if he waited any longer he would realize just how bad of an idea this was, Kaoru led Hikaru inside the community center, heading over to one of the large gym areas set up for the competition, with bleachers on either side. He spotted Tamaki, Kyouya, and Haruhi who waved to him, and navigated expertly through the crowd of spectators already seated on the bleachers. Hikaru, on the other hand, was used to people moving for him, and clumsily tripped and stepped on people's toes, managing to disrupt half the crowd.

"Glad you could make it, Hunny's about to compete," Haruhi greeted with a smile.

As Kaoru and Hikaru took a seat, Kyouya asked, "Who's this, Kaoru?"

"My cousin, Hiroshi," Kaoru told them, Hikaru refusing to make eye contact and looking forward, obviously bored.

After a few moments of silence, Kaoru elbowed Hikaru in the side, the pop-star in disguise growling and looking over at the others and grumbling, "Hi."

It was clear Hikaru wanted no more part in the conversation, but Tamaki hadn't spoken yet, and he was more than curious. "You never told us you had a cousin!" Turning his attention to Hikaru/Hiroshi, he leaned over Kaoru and started bombarding his "cousin" with questions. "Where are you from? Do you have any siblings? What school do you go to? Are you in any clubs? How about-mmf!"

Hikaru clamped a hand over Tamaki's mouth. While Tamaki had been busy spouting away, what little patience Hikaru had deteriorated quickly. "Look," he snapped, his eyes still looking forward. "Not gonna lie, I don't want to be here right now. I'm not your friend, so let's keep it that way, because from only the past ten seconds I can tell you're goddamn annoying and a huge pain in the ass. So I kindly suggest you shut the hell up."

Removing his hand, Tamaki could only stay frozen in place, pure shock, agony, and depression taking over his smiling face. He collapsed back dramatically, no one really bothering to see if he was okay as he did that sort of thing all the time, but instead they stared at Hikaru in silence. Even Haruhi, who usually wasn't curious or interested at all, studied him.

And so everyone was surprised when Kaoru began slowly clapping, Tamaki popping back up to join the others in turning to now stare at Kaoru. Hikaru glared, snarling, "What?"

Kaoru could only grin. "Congrats. You've just won 'Worst First Impression of the Year'. How do you feel about your award?"

"You're hilarious." Hikaru turned his attention back to staring straight forward, although this time with a scowl on his face.

Haruhi asked Kaoru in a whisper, "Is he always this…unpleasant?"

"Well, I don't know him that well," Kaoru whispered back, smirking, "But I think it's pretty safe to say yes."

"He said he doesn't want to be here, so why is he?" Leave it to Kyouya to start asking the hard questions. Luckily, the truth wasn't too hard to twist.

"Our moms are good friends, so they figured we should start hanging out more. When they heard about how we were all going to see Hunny and Mori compete, they figured Hiroshi should tag along. His mom threatened to ground him if he doesn't go through with it."

"Oh look! Hunny's starting!" Tamaki pointed to one of the areas set up with mats and judges, everyone, including Hikaru, watching as Hunny bowed to his opponent.

Hikaru burst out laughing.

He gripped his sides, and had trouble staying balanced on the bleacher, causing quite a few audience members to give him dirty looks, which he was oblivious to. "Who let the third grader compete? Look! Look! He's a foot shorter than who he's fighting! Shouldn't he be getting ready for naptime?"

Tamaki decided it was his turn to be smug. "Just watch," he ordered, feeling as though this was a little bit of payback for Hikaru shutting him up earlier.

Hikaru rolled his eyes, but kept watching anyway, stifling chuckles.

The spar began, and Hunny was flipped into the air, landed on his feet, delivering punches and kicks at the speed of lightning, blocking every blow, never losing his balance or backing down. He won in a little over three minutes.

"He's a little slower than usual," Haruhi commented.

Kyouya replied, "He said he was having a bit of an off day."

Tamaki nodded. "He said he didn't have as much cake as usual."

Kaoru turned to Hikaru. "So, what do you think, Hirsohi?"

Hikaru only sat, perfectly still, with his mouth gaping. It took him a few seconds to snap out of his daze, shaking his head as if to gain back his ability to process thoughts. "I'm getting a snack."

As soon as he was out of earshot, Tamaki decided to gloat over his triumph. "Not so high and mighty now, is he? Oh, we showed him! Don't you agree, my darling daughter?"

"What are you talking about? Hunny did all the work."

Instantly he deflated, whimpering about how his "daughter" was disrespecting him, the others ignoring him as Kyouya asked, "Is Hiroshi staying with us for the celebration? We're heading over to the coffee house. Tamaki and I dropped off plenty of cake there, if Hirsohi would like to join us."

Tamaki gasped, making a quick recovery from Haruhi's comment, "No, we're not allowing that devil to be anywhere near my precious daughter! He's corrupting her mind!"

"Tamaki let go of my arm."

"Oh, don't worry," Kaoru told them, "He won't want to stick around anyway."

And Kaoru found himself wondering if that made him ecstatic or disappointed.

* * *

><p><strong>Happy birthday to the twins! *blows party horn* I was debating whether or not to write a little oneshot, but I needed to get this up, so I'll count this as my contribution.<strong>

**Not much to say. Next chapter will be after the tournament. I was going to include it in this chapter, but the more I wrote, the longer it got, and unless I wanted to spend another few days on it and have a ridiculously long chapter, I knew it needed to be in two parts.**

**So I didn't login for a few days, and when I come back we have Image Manager. Can't say I'm too fond of it right now. It just seems like more work, in all honesty. I'm not going to spend a lot of time looking for what would be a great cover for my fanfics. I guess if you guys happen to stumble on anything that would work nicely for this story, send me a link.**

**Until next time, read and enjoy!**


	9. chapter n i n e

"Wonderful job, Hunny and Mori!"

"Very impressive."

"Amazing as always."

"And now it's Hunny's favorite part!"

Hunny's face lit up while he hugged his stuffed bunny tighter to his chest. His friends surrounded him, Mori was beside him, holding their two trophies. "We're having cake? Oh boy!"

"But of course," Tamaki gushed, smiling and looking at the tall and short seniors, "Only the best for the very best!"

"We should get changed," Mori piped in, Hunny nodding. Haruhi, Kyouya, Tamaki, and Kaoru watched from their spot on the mats as people around them began to leave, the cleaning crew already coming in, as their friends made their way to the locker room.

Hunny yelled over his shoulder with the smile that melted the polar ice caps, "We'll meet you outside by the entrance!"

Kaoru yawned, stretching and hearing a few cracks. "I hate being still for so long. What time is it, anyway?"

"4 o'clock," Kyouya told him after a quick look at his watch. As the quartet of friends began walking towards the exit into the large hall, he added, "You know, Hiroshi has been gone for a while now."

"Did he get lost?" Haruhi suggested, now also aware of his long absence. In truth, no one had minded him being gone, and frankly, no one would be too upset if he had just up and left.

Kaoru bit his lip, telling the others as he hurried ahead, "I better go find him. I'll catch up with you guys in a bit."

Tamaki cupped a hand around his mouth, yelling as Kaoru became further and further away from them, "If you don't find him that's quite alright!" Haruhi and Kyouya gave him a look, and Tamaki huffed, crossing his arms. "Don't pretend you weren't thinking the same thing."

* * *

><p>The ginger struggled to remember where Hikaru had said he was going. Bathroom? Outside? No, snacks, that was it. When he got to the main hall that led to all the other rooms in the community center, along with the main entrance and exit, Kaoru looked to the left and right, the crowd having thinned enough so he could clearly see what was around him.<p>

What remained of the concession stand after the cleanup was further down the hall and to the left, but when Kaoru began walking towards it, he saw no sign of his twin. He sighed, running a hand through his air and looking around. _If I was a conceited brat,_ he thought, _where would I go?_

Well, as far away as possible would be a good option. However, he knew Hikaru wasn't dumb enough to leave too early just to be caught by Aoi, so perhaps he was just hiding out somewhere until he saw that everyone had left. In that case, it would have to be a spot far away from the tournament, but still within sight of at least the main hall.

Only after the community center felt empty and abandoned did Kaoru hear a snore.

_Is that really…?_

Sure enough, there was Hikaru, hiding in one of the large windowsills, hands behind his head acting as a pillow while he napped. He let out another unruly snore, and Kaoru smirked at the thought of the ever glamorous pop star falling asleep in a windowsill and snoring as loud as a jet plane.

Kaoru walked over and looked down at him, bending down so he was at Hikaru's level and began poking him in the cheek. "Oi, wake up Sleeping Ugly."

Instead of groaning and struggling to open his eyes and sit up, as most people would, Hikaru fidgeted, looking as though he was about to wake up, when at the last second his subconscious ordered his left arm to reach over and slap Kaoru's hand away.

The twin raised a brow, straightening up and whispering to no one in particular, "So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" He took out his cell phone, scrolling through the audio files, and once he had picked the perfect wake-up call, he covered an ear with one hand and hit play with the other.

A fog horn bellowed through the air, causing Hikaru to flail in shock, yelling, "Holy shit!" He ended up falling off the windowsill and landing ungracefully on the floor, on his back, his legs still against the wall.

Kaoru grinned. "Graceful as ever."

"Oh shut up. The hell was that for, anyway?" Hikaru struggled to stand up, and he faked a hurt ankle and arm to try and enlist some pity. Kaoru was unfazed.

"The competition's over. Everyone's going to celebrate at the coffee shop Haruhi works at. You coming?" He wasn't sure what to expect from Hikaru at this point. Maybe he was in for a surprise and his twin would agree to come. He certainly didn't expect the answer he received.

Hikaru's eyes narrowed, and Kaoru instantly regretted asking him. "Not in a million years." He turned, not even bothering to look back at his brother as he muttered, "This was a horrible waste of time; glad it's over. Let's agree to just break off any and all connections right now. Have a decent life, or whatever."

Kaoru blinked, his brain not quite processing what Hikaru was saying. For some reason, he found himself more annoyed and angered than saddened. There was a brief flash of disappointment in his heart, but just as soon as it appeared, it vanished, and Kaoru could only clench his hands into fists and grit his teeth, thinking sarcastically to himself, _Gee, thanks for trying. After the effort I'm making to get to know you better, it's nice to know that you're exactly as unpleasant as I thought you would be. And I can understand you not liking me, but don't hate my friends before you even know them._

"Hey Kaoru!" He was snapped out of his rage by Hunny's voice, and looked over to see the seniors walking over to him, changed into street clothes, Mori carrying both of their bags on one shoulder with ease. Hunny looked down the hall at Hikaru walking towards the back exit, and asked, "Who was that? We saw you two talking."

_A pathetic excuse for a human being._ "My cousin, Hiroshi. He came with me to the tournament, but he can't stay to celebrate."

"Aw, that's too bad. We better hurry up, though; the others might get impatient waiting for us!"

* * *

><p>Thirty minutes later, as the teens sat in a corner booth, laughing and chatting and finishing up the last slices of cake they had brought, Kaoru couldn't even remember why he was angry. It was only when Tamaki mentioned his "cousin" that the feelings of annoyance came back to him.<p>

"I just don't see how Kaoru can be related to someone like Hiroshi," he mused, cupping his chin with his hand in thought, "I see the physical connection just fine, but personality-wise, it's like he was adopted."

"No, Tamaki," Kaoru rolled his eyes. "_I'm_ the adopted one, remember?" Tamaki began to apologize profusely, to which Kaoru just laughed and told him it was no big deal. The blond seemed to always forget that Kaoru wasn't actually blood-related to his parents, even though he knew full well that it was a bit of a sore subject.

Haruhi interrupted the apology-fest. "Even if they were related, it wouldn't make a difference. They're two totally different people." Kaoru smiled at the brunette. Haruhi always managed to make him feel better, even if she wasn't always aware that she did.

Hunny looked incredibly confused. "What did Hiroshi do?"

Kaoru didn't even open his mouth before Tamaki began spouting away about what a horrible little devil he was, Kyouya and Haruhi interjecting once or twice when Tamaki made a completely ridiculous hyperbole, like when he suggested Hiroshi tried to mug them or beat them to death.

He chuckled, and his attention was drawn to the window, and he watched the quiet street. In only an hour or so, it would be filled with people from all walks of life, either heading home or going out on the town. It was the calm before the storm, and Kaoru found himself enjoying the peace. His mind drifted back to thinking about what Hikaru had said. "Let's agree to just break off any and all connections right now."

But now that they knew the other existed, they couldn't expect to just go on with their lives as though nothing happened. Kaoru sighed, wondering what came next. No doubt, Aoi would want them to spend more time together; she seemed incredibly desperate on the phone. He couldn't stand Hikaru, though, especially after he was so rude to his friends. Sure, someone being rude to Tamaki was understandable. It took a while to get used to the blond idiot. A lot of people disliked Kyouya, but only after he had shown how much power he could have. Hunny and Mori hadn't said a single word to the jerk, and who on earth could find it in their heart to hate Haruhi? She was quite probably one of the most amazing people he would ever meet, and she was always so understanding and caring...

"-right, Kaoru?"

He blinked, looking at the expectant faces now suddenly turned towards him. "Sorry, I spaced out. What?"

Kyouya repeated, "Hiroshi doesn't go to our school, correct? Tamaki is convinced he does."

"I'm sure I've seen him!"

"Hope you didn't bet on it, Tono. Hiroshi's homeschooled."

"What? No, no, that can't be! Isn't he in your grade? I thought he was on some malicious sports team, like track."

"Welp, he's not in any martial arts clubs."

"That's because he doesn't go to our school at all."

"I refuse to believe it!"

Kaoru smiled. This entire twin mess could wait. Right now, he was just enjoying pretending he had never met Hikaru Hitachiin.

* * *

><p><strong>You gotta watch out for them track kids. (Disclaimer: I have nothing against track, please don't hurt me.)<strong>

**I'm going to be gone for the majority of July, so probably no updates until August, sorry guys!**

**Next chapter will be a mix of Hikaru's world and Kaoru's, and we get a look at yet another person who doesn't like Hikaru. Seriously, let's just rename this "Everyone Hates Hikaru". I honestly didn't realize how many people would actually come to dislike him in the beginning. Don't worry, he'll _eventually_ find a few allies, maybe even friends.**

**Maybe. Most likely. Perhaps. We'll see.**

**Until next time, read and enjoy!**


	10. chapter t e n

Hikaru opened the door to his penthouse after spending an extra two hours away, trying to stall the inevitable, and was greeted with Aoi sitting in a chair and asking immediately with an expectant smile, "So, how'd it go?"

He raised a brow. Why did she think he would get along with a bunch of commoners? Hikaru closed the door behind him, and then smiled so wide it hurt. "OMG! It was fantastic! We're, like, BFFs now! Crazy, right?" he gushed, Aoi frowning.

"A simple 'not well' would suffice." She sighed, standing up. "At least tell me you're willing to get to know him more."

Hikaru dropped the act, and decided to look around the tiny kitchen to see if they had any snacks, preferably something spicy or with maple syrup. "Nope. We mutually agreed to never see each other again," he told her nonchalantly.

Aoi nearly had a conniption. "What?" She was stomping towards him, and Hikaru briefly wondered how she managed to do so in heels. He had located some spicy hard candy and a soda, and was now ready to crash onto his bed and watch stupid Youtube videos, because contrary to popular belief, that's how exciting he was during his down time. Aoi blocked his way, demanding, "Hikaru, what did you say? Is Kaoru mad at you now? What about his friends? Did you even talk to them?"

"Slow down, Business Lady," Hikaru soothed, although it did nothing to calm her, "We talked it out, and we both agree it would be within our best interests to pretend we never met. We can both go back to our daily lives, and it's not like we're missing out. I - _we_ know we can handle not knowing each other for the rest of our lives." He brushed past a silent Aoi, throwing his candy and soda onto the large, plush bed, and then grabbing his laptop from his bedside table and following his food's example.

His personal assistant was quiet, too quiet, and after he had gotten comfortable and was waiting for the web page to load, he looked over at her, watching as she began to silently mull something over in her head. He smirked, thinking he was finally in the clear. Victory was sweet as he opened his soda, careful not to let it explode with fizz, and taking a satisfying sip. _No more glitch in the system_, he thought.

He didn't even notice Aoi pulling out her cell phone. "I'm calling and asking Kaoru."

Hikaru's head snapped up. "No."

"Oh, and why not?" She was taunting him now. Hikaru put his laptop back on the bedside table, soda next to it, and began walking over to her. "Could it be because you're lying?"

"I'm not lying; Kaoru will lie."

"That's also a lie. Oooh, look, I'm dialing the number!" Now she was just being childish. She knew she had more control in the situation, and she was enjoying it far too much.

Hikaru was equally childish, reaching out to try and grab the mobile, Aoi using one arm to try and push him away, and the other holding the phone as far away from him as possible. "Give me the damn phone!"

"I'm pressing call!"

"I said give me the goddamn phone!" He was reaching out wildly, trying his best to snatch it, but to no avail. Whenever he moved, Aoi moved as well, blocking him. "That stupid commoner will blow things out of proportion and make me look like a total jackass."

"You _are_ a total jackass."

"…More so than usual. Give me the phone!" He began jumping when she began waving her cell phone in the air again, and she had to hop onto a kitchen counter to keep him from grabbing it.

"It's ringing," she taunted, holding it to her ear, Hikaru growling. "You look so- Oh hello, Kaoru. So, how did things go with Hikaru?" The ginger could only silently fume, knowing he was defeated. He began the walk of shame back to his bed, now intent on pouting and pretending to ignore the conversation while he settled back down to watch whatever video some idiots had posted of themselves doing something stupid and getting hurt.

"…That bad, huh? Oh, no, he's not here, don't worry about it." What was the commoner saying about him? Hikaru shot Aoi a glare, to which she stuck her tongue out. "Yeah, he's a real pain sometimes, but maybe you two should try again, except with less people, it might help. Say, a dinner with your parents at your house?"

Hikaru twitched as Aoi began going over the details with Kaoru. If he didn't like his friends, he most certainly wouldn't like his adopted family. What the hell was he supposed to say, anyway? "Oh hey, thanks for adopting the twin that I hate, lovely home you have here." He huffed, scrolling through the newest videos posted.

"And thank you so much for giving him a second chance, Kaoru. I promise he'll be on his best behavior." Was he a dog, now? Aoi hung up, getting off the counter and brushing imaginary dust from her skirt, telling Hikaru, as though he wasn't listening the entire time, "You'll be having dinner with Kaoru and his parents at their apartment Wednesday at six."

"Whatever." He knew now that she was on a mission; she wasn't going to stop until she got what she wanted. He might as well go through with the dinner, and hey, maybe he could get Kaoru's parents to agree with him, and that would be the end of that.

Aoi sighed once more, heading towards the door. "You're going to be on tour for two weeks after the next. You need to spend as much time as possible with Kaoru and his friends before you get even busier."

Hikaru listened to the door close shut. All his life, he had been alone. That was how he wanted it. He had seen friends and business partners betray his mother, other celebrities' marriages fall apart, scandalous affairs. In the world he grew up in, friends would get you nowhere. He figured he was doing himself a favor by cutting all ties to the rest of the world. Looking out for number one was working out just fine for him.

Hang on a minute. A video caught his attention, and he clicked on it, watching as the camera bobbed up and down in the sea of paparazzi, whoever was filming trying to get a better shot. A girl with brilliant red hair stepped through the crowd, large sunglasses covering her eyes. _Ayanokoji_, Hikaru thought, a pit forming in his stomach. She was an actress, and he had recently refused to do a song for her latest romance movie, stirring a few rumors over whether or not her popularity was fading. _She must hate my guts._

"Ayanokoji! Is it true you're accusing Hikaru Hitachiin of underage drinking?" the camera holder asked when she passed by on the sidewalk. _Shit._

She lowered her sunglasses, stating simply while looking directly at the camera, "I'm not accusing anyone. I'm simply stating the facts." Hikaru was unnerved by the coolness in her voice, and it didn't help that it felt like she was staring right at him, a malicious glint in her eyes. "I have several witnesses who can testify, and if Hikaru Hitachiin would like to do the responsible thing and admit his mistake, it's up to him. I, for one, don't want to sit around while the guilty look innocent."

_Wait a minute; she wasn't invited to that dumb party. Hell, I don't think she was even in the country, how could she know?_

"Are we done here?" a silky voice asked, as a young French woman with caramel hair and blue eyes appeared next to Ayanokoji in the shot. Hikaru's heart sank, and the pit in his stomach grew. Éclair smiled. "My friend and I were hoping to go home now after such a nice lunch." The bodyguards came in and blocked the camera, allowing the two girls to walk through to a limo, driving off.

The person filming turned the camera around so the audience could see his face, and the young man asked, the excitement in his voice hardly contained, "Is this the beginning of the end for Hikaru Hitachiin?"

Hikaru paused the video, looking at the smile on the guy's face. _Why is he so happy?_ He'd never done anything to the guy, so why would he want to see him crash and burn? People loved Hikaru.

Didn't they?

And then he realized what that moment at the party with Éclair was. That was no warning; that was a challenge. She wanted a war. Already, she had allies lined up, and if total strangers wanted Hikaru publically disgraced, then no doubt she had plenty of people willing to help her bring him down. His entire lifestyle was being threatened. No doubt this video would go viral, and then it was just a matter of time before Éclair attacked once more.

He thought back to all the people he had been rude to, all the girls he led on, and all the paparazzi he had smart-mouthed. There were a lot. He had never been rude in public, but now that didn't matter. United, with Éclair leading them, they had a fighting chance. Hikaru, for the first time, was on the losing side.

He slammed the laptop shut and threw it to the side, not wanting it in his sight. He sat cross-legged, resting his head in his hands.

Hikaru Hitachiin was scared, and alone. No one was standing loyally at his side, or comforting him.

But isn't that what he wanted?

* * *

><p>Monday morning, right after class started, Kaoru decided he gave second chances too quickly. He was a complete and utter push-over who believed people could change. Of course when Aoi called and said Hikaru should have dinner with him and his family he agreed, because he was a nice guy. Nice guys finish last. Kaoru was never going to win in this situation. It was kind of pathetic, really.<p>

Haruhi poked him with a pencil, and he jolted out of his thoughts, realizing their teacher was going to go over something on a future test. He mouthed Haruhi a thank you, and she only smiled, continuing on with her notes. Kaoru decided now was the time to focus, and kept his mind completely on school up until lunch.

While Kaoru stood up, stretching, Haruhi turned to Anzu, who sat behind them, and asked, "Are you still busy with photography for the newspaper club during lunch?"

The girl blinked. "No. I finally get a break."

"You can sit with us, then," Kaoru chirped, smiling at her. Anzu nodded, and the three headed out into the hall towards the cafeteria. Anzu had only heard of the others, and he was excited that she was finally going to meet them.

Halfway towards the lunch line, Anzu tugged at Kaoru's sleeve and whispered, "Lock, I need to tell you something."

"Hm? Is it really important? Because we need to get in line before it gets too long."

Anzu bit her lip. Haruhi noticed the two trailing behind her, and she piped up, "I'll go and tell the others you two are buying." She always brought leftovers from home, and so she waved with one hand and headed off to the courtyard, towards their usual spot.

"Sorry, Anzu, you wanted to tell me something secret?" Kaoru asked, getting in line.

She thought for a moment, but told him, "No, it's probably nothing."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Because you know I'll keep it confidential."

"It's nothing."

"It sounded kind of urgent."

"Believe me, you'll find out soon enough."

"What's that supposed to – Hi, can I get…"

* * *

><p><strong>And we end on that cliff-hanger. :D<strong>

**So what is Anzu's secret? What will become of Hikaru's career? What in the world is Kaoru's adoptive mom going to make for dinner?**

**All the answers (probably) and more, in the next installment of... _Two Worlds, One Face_.**

**Until next time, read and enjoy!**


	11. chapter e l e v e n

In the relatively short time Kaoru had known Anzu, he had noticed something: she wasn't very emotional.

Ever.

She would laugh, smile, and it was always genuine, but she seemed to almost always be in a dreamy, deep-in-thought state. Therefore, when Anzu kept her gaze straight ahead, her hands holding her lunch tray so tightly her already pale knuckles had turned into a snowy white, Kaoru knew something was very, horribly, incredibly wrong.

"Are you sure you're okay, Anzu?"

"Hm?" She seemed to revert back to her usual calm demeanor, and she nodded. "Fine." She couldn't hide the voice crack.

Kaoru raised a brow. "You don't seem fine to me." He thought for a bit, and laughed a little as he asked, "Are you actually nervous to meet my friends?"

Anzu thought for a bit, now not even bothering to hide her shaky legs and arms. "I suppose you could say that."

"Don't be," he told her as they approached ever closer to the courtyard where they usually ate. "Believe me; they're strange, but friendly. And you already know Haruhi and me, so that's a third."

Her voice was clipped, and a little harsher than usual. "What are their names again?"

"Hunny, Mori, Tamaki, and Kyouya."

This seemed to only distress her a little more. "And they say they don't know me?"

"Well, I assume," Kaoru was careful to phrase what he said, not sure how Anzu would react now, "I mean, you've ever talked to any of them, right?"

"Technically no, but-"

"Hi Kaoru!" Hunny had looked up from his cake at just the right moment to interrupt Anzu, which irritated Kaoru, seeing as how he was finally going to get to the bottom of the mystery. The little blond boy held his pink bunny closer, tilting his head. "Who's this?"

Kaoru set his tray down and took his seat, motioning to Anzu and introducing her to the others. "This is Anzu. She's in my and Haruhi's class. Anzu, everyone, everyone, Anzu."

The girl gave a small wave, seeming to keep her gaze on the side of the table with Hunny, Mori, and Haruhi, ignoring the opposite end of the table containing Tamaki and Kyouya. Hunny waved back, greeting, "Hiya Anzu! I'm Mitskuni, but you can call me Hunny. And this is Takashi, but everyone calls him Mori. We're seniors."

"Hi."

Anzu nodded, smiling. Kaoru noticed how she seemed to avoid eye contact with Tamaki and Kyouya. When he looked at the two, Tamaki smiled, and Kyouya was….glaring? Why in the world would he already be mad at Anzu? "Hello Anzu, I'm Tamaki Suoh, your Student Council President. What an honor to meet you." He leaned over the table, extending his hand to take hers and kiss it. Anzu looked up briefly, seeming to relax a little. This was a mistake, as she let herself look over and see Kyouya glaring, making her instantly tense again.

"You mean you don't recognize her, Tamaki?" Kyouya asked coolly, raising his glasses, the lenses catching a glint, the air seeming to grow colder.

The blond idiot looked incredibly confused. He looked between Anzu and Kyouya, but came to the conclusion, "No. Should I?"

"Let me refresh your memory." The Shadow King turned to Anzu, and she gulped. Kaoru looked down to see her hands in nervous fists in her lap. Kyouya asked, a subtle, barely there malice to his tone, "Are you still taking pictures for the Newspaper Club, Anzu Koizumi?"

And suddenly, the light bulb went off in Tamaki's head. He went from Prince Charming to attorney, jumping up and pointing accusingly. "You!"

Needless to say, the others were confused. Kaoru asked, "Anyone else need an explanation, or just me?"

"Have you three met before?" Haruhi added.

"Kyouya! She's the one who- oh my god, Kyouya, I almost lost the election because of her! Mommy do something!"

Anzu bit her lip, but turned to the others, and began to explain. "Last year, even though I was still in middle school, the high school Newspaper Club wanted me to take a few pictures for them. Since it was the first time they had ever asked me to, I wanted to make a good impression, and took a lot of pictures. They were covering the student council, so I had to sit in on a meeting, along with a member of the newspaper."

It took a few seconds, but then Kaoru, Haruhi, Hunny, and Mori had the "oh" moment as well. They tried to bite back their laughter, for Tamaki and Kyouya's sake, but the memory was enough to make them burst into fits of giggles. "That picture was hilarious," Kaoru told Anzu in between chuckles, "Tono was totally knocked out, and there was even a little drool and a snot bubble."

Yes, one of the pictures Anzu had happened to take was of Tamaki in his first year of high school, who was only Vice President at the time, having fallen asleep at the meeting. And it was the only proof available that anyone, even Tamaki, could be non-photogenic if caught at the right time. The headline had read "Student Council of Incompetence". The entire article had been an excuse for the Newspaper Club to show the Student Council in a negative light and point out every flaw. They even badmouthed specific members, two of them being Tamaki and Kyouya, who were easy targets due to their first year status. Even though Tamaki and Kyouya still won the elections this year, the article had stirred up a few rumors that were hard to dismiss.

"You almost cost us our spots in the Student Council," Kyouya commented.

Anzu sighed. "I didn't write the article. I took the picture. It wasn't even a good picture, but the Newspaper Club wanted me to give them all the photos I had taken, so I did. I'm sorry if that caused you any problems, because I honestly didn't mean to. I'm willing to make it up to you."

The laughter stopped as everyone waited for Tamaki and Kyouya's response. Tamaki had on a poker face as he asked, "You sincerely didn't mean to cause any harm?"

"Sincerely."

"And you sincerely regret taking the picture?"

"Well-" Kaoru elbowed her, shaking his head, and Anzu got the message. "Very much so," she lied smoothly.

"And you're sincere when you say you're willing to make it up?"

"I'd go so far as to say genuine."

Now it was Kyouya's turn to talk business. "Then I do happen to have one way in which you could make it up. It will involve a little work, and quite a bit of snooping, but I'm sure the others will be willing to help as well. Are you in?"

Anzu thought for a moment. "What do you have in mind?" Her nervousness seemed to have disappeared, and Kaoru assumed it was because she had only been afraid of their reaction. Now that she knew she could deal with it, Anzu was back to her normal self.

"We're taking down the Newspaper Club. They've written one too many lies about the Student Council."

"But they pay me."

"But do they know where you live?"

"…I'm in."

And Kaoru got the feeling they were all in for one very entertaining ride. And maybe second chances weren't as bad as he thought they were.

* * *

><p><strong>When Kyouya knows where you live, "no" isn't an option.<strong>

**This is a relatively short chapter, but I feel like it's better this way. Anywhoozles, next chapter will be Hikaru's exciting Tuesday adventures, complete with Aoi freaking out. Fun stuff.**

**Also, I'm interested in knowing what you guys thought Anzu's secret was, and what would happen. Hopefully I managed to surprise you guys enough with a new subplot (I guess you can call it) about taking down the Newspaper Club. Thoughts? Questions? Concerns?**

**I would also like to take this time to thank every single person who has reviewed. Seriously, guys. I didn't even notice, but I've already received 60 reviews, which makes me happier than a Hunny in a candy and cake shop. Just know that while I may not always have the time to reply to every review, I do read what you guys have to say, and honestly, it keeps my motivation to keep the story going really high. Keep being awesome, you awesome people you.**

**Edit: To clarify, the secret Anzu was going to tell Kaoru was that she was the one who had taken the embarrassing photo of Tamaki, and so Tamaki and Kyouya already knew and dislike her.**

**Until next time, read and enjoy!**


	12. chapter t w e l v e

Hikaru had always hated Tuesdays.

Not only were they right after Monday, but they were always so incredibly boring. Nothing excited ever happened on Tuesday.

Ironic how the one time a Tuesday was in any way exciting, was one of the worst.

"Ohmanohmanohmanohmanohman-" Aoi was pacing around the penthouse, phoning three different people at a time, panicking, yelling, and panicking some more. She had seen the video, and according to the view count, so had at least one million other people. The video was already being aired on a few pop news shows, but seemed to not have much of an effect otherwise.

Hikaru frowned.

Here was an incriminating video of him being accused of something illegal, and it seemed like no one cared. Well, not necessarily. They cared, whether it was people who hated him making a few snide remarks, or his fans standing up for him and defending him (idiots), but overall, it was as though this kind of behavior was expected from him, which bugged him.

Aoi got off the phone, letting out a deep breath. "Okay," she whispered, seeming to try and calm herself more than Hikaru, "Everything's fine, everything's going to be fine. We have the talk show today, there's no concrete evidence, and no one else important is bad-mouthing you. Okay, we can work with this."

Hikaru was tempted to ask Aoi about his concern, but he decided against it. There was no way he was going to start sharing personal stuff with anyone, least of all his personal assistant. He didn't say a word as the two were guided into the limo by guards, a few journalists trying to ask Hikaru some questions. Aoi noticed his silence, and as they drove along she asked, "Are you all right? You're really quiet."

Her look of genuine concern made Hikaru cringe. "Ew, what's with that weird face?"

"Why you-" Her face was beginning to turn red from annoyance, and Hikaru laughed. Aoi crossed her arms, turning away from the ginger and muttering, "Seriously, what I get for being polite…"

_This is bad,_ Hikaru thought, practically seeing the cracks in the walls he had built up his entire life, _This is very, very bad._

* * *

><p>"Hey, hi, hello to Renge's Rice Corner! I'm your ever energetic hostess, Renge Houshakuji!"<p>

The studio audience roared with applause, and Renge smiled from her seat on her signature white chair. Her light brown hair was in a high bun, her clothes were trendy as ever, and her brown eyes were large and cheerful. Hikaru hated having to deal with these talk-show hosts. Their happy-go-lucky, can-do attitudes made him want to barf. His face didn't give away his real opinions, though, as a pleasant smile rested on his lips and he sat comfortably on the white love-seat.

"Now, let's make our guest feel welcome! I'm not sure if you all know him. Ever heard of, oh what's his name…Hikaru Hitachiin?" Every girl in the room screamed, Renge covering her ears and raising a brow. "Wow, so I guess you have." The audience laughed, and Hikaru suppressed the need to roll his eyes. She turned to him, chirping, "So, how's your day?"

The question caught him a little off-guard. He had suspected that she would dive straight into questions about the video. However, there was a glimmer in her eyes, and suddenly Hikaru was aware that perhaps Renge wasn't as air-headed as he had judged her. He picked up on her strategy, replying nonchalantly, "Oh, a little of this, a little of that, nothing out of the ordinary."

"That's nice. Did you manage to grab some lunch before you came?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Well in that case, we can head out to eat together after the show."

"Sounds great."

"Mhmm. Oh, I was supposed to ask you something…" She turned to the audience knowingly, listening to their yells and protests of wanting to get into the gossip. Renge laughed. "You know I'm just teasing. Gosh, you guys won't leave me alone until I get out all the scandalous details, so let's just get this out of the way. I'm sure you've seen the video, Hikaru."

He only nodded, not quite sure how else to respond.

"Oh look at him, being all shy. No need, no need, we don't judge over here at the Rice Corner. Well, there's no other way to put this: Are the claims in the video true?"

Hikaru knew how he was _supposed_ to respond. He was supposed to smile and laugh, rambling about what a misunderstanding it was, how he was sorry for the confusion, and how he was just as innocent as all his fans made him out to be. He was going to pretend this never happened, brush off Éclair's attack, and go on with everything as scheduled. That was the plan.

But then, he was also supposed to never have gone into music. He was supposed to just sit in his empty mansion, being tutored and taught how to be a good little heir. He was supposed to listen to his mother and never go behind her back, and spend his time trying to become the perfect son.

And so, his reply was obvious.

"Yes."

Of course, he had never been very good with doing what he was supposed to.

The studio audience gasped, whispering, and Hikaru could see Aoi having a conniption on the side, but Renge didn't miss a beat. "What a relief!"

It was Hikaru's turn to be surprised. "Eh?"

Renge winked. "For a while, I wasn't sure you were human. A great singer, student, citizen…I was afraid you were an android! It's reassuring to know that you can make mistakes just like me." The audience listened, quite a few beginning to nod.

"It was a mistake. I didn't even mean to have any alcohol at the party, but someone brought it in and things got a little out of hand." A complete lie, considering Hikaru had always intended to have booze involved. He decided he wouldn't reveal the whole truth, though. He wanted to show Éclair that he was going to play her game, not lose it immediately.

"Did everyone make it home safe?"

"I made sure that everyone got a taxi and no one was hurt."

"See? He can make _and_ fix mistakes. I think that's nicer than the perfect guy, don't you folks think so?" Another few seconds of clapping and agreement from the fans. She turned to Hikaru, asking with a smile, "So, care to tell the ladies more about this newly discovered wild side of yours?"

The girls squealed, and Hikaru smirked. "Well, I assure you nothing illegal, but I think I'll keep it a secret for now." _Mostly because it includes offending a lot of people._

Renge laughed. "When did you become so mysterious?"

"I've always been a little secretive." Okay, so at least that wasn't a total lie. "Maybe now the world is just starting to pay attention."

"It certainly is. Now let's get off this topic, it feels like we're beating a dead horse, as morbid as it sounds. I think it's about time we start talking about the very reason you're on the show; your music!"

"Sounds great."

"I listened to your hit single, 'Close', and I have to wonder, what inspired you?"

"It's a funny story actually…"

* * *

><p>The show was over, and everyone was congratulating one another backstage, Hikaru finishing up what little water was left in the plastic bottle. He had always hated how hot it got under the lights. He was off to the side, not really wanting to deal with people for the rest of the day, and so he grimaced when Aoi walked to his side, opening her mouth to no doubt lecture him about what a stupid mistake it was and how he shouldn't encourage people like Éclair to make another claim about him.<p>

"Fantastic character."

Aoi turned around, Hikaru looking past his assistant to see Renge standing with her bag, ready to leave. She smiled, putting her hands in her pockets as she casually explained, "Most of my guests always to portray someone so perfect and stiff. It's refreshing to see you taking a more realistic approach."

Hikaru raised a brow. "What do you mean, character?" He stepped forward, Aoi watching as he smiled, soothing, "I'm not fake."

"Good one," Renge muttered, rolling her eyes. "Seriously, why does no one understand that you can drop your act when the camera turns off?" She looked up at him, smirking. "Chill, I have a character too, don't I? If I reveal you, I'd have to reveal myself. I'm a talk-show host and you're a singer; we won't gain anything by being enemies."

"Why bring all of this up now?"

"Because I'm not blind. I know you and Éclair don't like each other. I had her on the show last week, I know she hates your guts, and you obviously hate hers. I'm on your side, though."

"Oh," Hikaru raised a brow, beginning to relax into his usual self, "And why is that? Could it be that my charming personality has won you over?"

"Nah, I just have a personal grudge against her."

"What happened? You can't expect to just mention that and have me not want to know more."

"Don't worry, I'll tell you…over lunch."

"Are you asking me out? Because you're not my type."

"Don't worry, I'm not into tall, ginger, and shallow. I'm just hungry, and I'd rather talk in private." She pointedly looked at Aoi, who bristled. "Without a lot of other people around."

"You know somewhere we can go without being bugged?"

"Yup. So are you in?"

Hikaru looked back at Aoi, who seemed agitated and nervous. She wasn't used to him going off and doing whatever in broad daylight, and the idea that something could go horribly wrong and she wouldn't be able to fix it right away was probably torture. He looked back at Renge, who had piqued his interest, not only with her cleverness, but a story about Éclair. Besides, he could use a few allies if he was going to go against Tonnere.

"Let's go. Business Lady, clean up my penthouse while I'm gone."

"You little-"

"Well, well, charming personality indeed."

And without even meaning to, Hikaru was taking another step towards finally tearing down the walls.

* * *

><p><strong>I apologize for the absence, guys, but a close friend of mine passed away. I'm still trying to deal with everything, and it's going to take some time to really heal. As much as I would love to say that I threw myself into writing, I didn't, and updates will probably be a little slow for a while. Not giving up on the story, I just need to cut back a little.<strong>

**Until next time, read and enjoy!**


End file.
